Nightingale
by Songbook12
Summary: This is the story of a girl who'd lost the best friend she never knew she had, a Nightingale who couldn't sing, a Robin who fought the wind, and a group of powerful friends who save the world as their job. This is the story of Sarelia and the Nightingale.
1. The Dreams

**hi! This is my first Teen Titans fanfiction, so don't hate- hope you like it! I'm currently in Germany, waiting until I can get on my flight to Hungary so... yay!**

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Nightingale

Chapter 1- The Dreams

This is the story of a girl who'd lost the best friend she never knew she had, a Nightingale who couldn't sing, a Robin who fought the wind, and a group of powerful friends who save the world as their job.

This is the story of Sarelia and the Nightingale.

A scream rang out in the night. Sarelia Shore, otherwise known as Sara, bolted upright in her bed, throat raw from the scream that tore loose from her. She panted; eyes darted around to survey the dimly lit room. Her eyes came to rest on the big, empty bed next to her.

'Empty.' She thought glumly, 'Empty now, empty forever.' Her thoughts strayed to her friend, Katie. They had gotten this house together, the three of them, Katie, Kathrynne and herself. They were the only ones left, the three of them. A month after they moved her, Katelyn started acting weird and they tiniest bit paranoid. She turned her room into a miniature training room, complete with and punching bags and an impressive array of weapons for such a small room.

And then there were two.

Katelyn had disappeared without a trace. There was no evidence of a kidnapping, or a fight. No bodies were found. The police eventually had to quit, they had employed the Teen Titans and the Justice League too late; the trail had gone cold. They all found one conclusion though-

Katelyn had left of her own will. She obviously had an ulterior motive, maybe she had been blackmailed, but it was clear that she had simply up and left.

Leaving behind her hometown, her past, her 'friends', and the lonely graves.

The police said that she might have been suffering from PTSD, from emotional stress. Every one of her relatives had been brutally murdered in front of her, after all, and she narrowly escaped death herself. Nonetheless, Sara couldn't argue. She had been acting strangely before she left.

But, she had left without so much as a note, instead gifting Sara and her sister Kathrynne with nightmares and the great fear of constantly being followed. They had wanted to move. Leave the house just as Katie had. But they couldn't bring themselves to leave behind a place that held memories of her, items that her scent- sweet peas, the ocean, vanilla, chocolate, cherry pie all in one scent unarguably Katie, - her clothes, her house, her bed. Sometimes, on the nights when the night terrors were more lucid and clear, they would curl up in her blue and green bed, the ocean bed, and bury their faces in the pillows and inhale the scent that survived time, never growing old. Maybe that's why they can't leave, let alone live their lives. Maybe if they left, they nightmares would leave too, but what if they didn't? Then they'd wake up to a new, cold house with no memories that they could cling to and pretend she was just out for another one of her lone, late night walks that she was so found of.

This night had been particularly terrifying. I clutched at the blankets, trying to erase the strange images of the silhouette of a man that followed, just out of clear sight. Tall, obviously male, and wearing some sort of iron suit. Then there was a girl who grinned down at me from the trees, her eyes glinting as the moonlight struck them. She met my eyes just as the nightmare faded into mist and her eyes gleamed golden.

I tried instead to focus on the strange girl who kept her face just out of sight. She would perch on a lamppost just above me and lead me through the maze of dead ends and brick walls. Sometimes, laughter would float back to me, carried by the breeze. It sounded just like Katie's would when she laughed at how 'amusing and stupid' we would act.

She wore a mask, oddly enough. It was silver, from what I could see through the heavy tendrils of mist that decorated this place. It covered her eyes and some of her forehead, which in my opinion would rather defeat the purpose if she just came closer. Sometimes, she would do curious things, like leaned against the trunk of the tree she was in, and do something that Katie had been prone to doing. She would take both hands and whistle out a bird's tune. Then she'd run off again, with me chasing her and him chasing me.

There was always something spurring me on- the lamplights that flickered that I now knew meant he was close, too close, the strange girl who always beckoned for me to follow.

Soon enough, the dreams became worse instead of better. There was often blood on the walls, but no bodies. The blood covered the walls and dripped onto the ground- a bloody trail, leading me along. I stopped following the girl, ignoring her silent, but frantic, protests, in favor of this new morbidly interesting turn of events. Eventually, I entered a dark alleyway. Fear coiled tightly in my gut, but I steeled my nerves and took a step forward. Something hit my back. I turned and saw the girl, closer than she'd ever been, then my eyes traced from her outstretched hand to the pebbled that hit me. I looked back at her.

I was surprised, she stood only a few small feet away from me. I took in her mask, looking at the intricate design around the edge. It looked like it was actually silver, but now that I was so close I could see that it had an edge of shiny black and the black was on the silver of the ask too, like a black outlines of feathers.

She shook her head desperately. She pointed at the alleyway and shook her head, trying to dissuade me without words. I turned my back to her and took another slow, hesitant step forwards, fearing what I'd find at the end of this alleyway. I knew, somehow, that I wouldn't like what I would see in there. I turned to head back, looking for the girl who had been sitting on top of the lamppost, as always.

But in her place, was him. A scream tore out of my throat and I bolted, running into the alleyway. Everywhere I looked as I ran, I could see the unending blackness that ate up the right side of his face, sharply contrasting with harsh gold on the left side. The one eyehole in the gold side, the narrowed eye staring mockingly out at me.

The alleyway stretched on and on and on… until I finally came to the end.

I was right. I didn't like what I saw.

I screamed and fell to my knees as I looked upon the sight of Kathrynne impaled on a spike, hanging from the wall. Tears streamed down my face. All I could think was, it's only a nightmare, only a dream, just a figment of my imagination…

But my legendary sixth sense buzzed ominously, warning me of the truth in my tortured mind's imaginings.

I blinked and I was taller, slimmer, and faster, running down the alleyway. Hadn't I just come down here… ? I was at the end of the alley now. I caught a quick glance at myself in the reflective mirror. I saw myself for less than a second, but what I saw made me run faster, spurred on by fear.

I saw Kathrynne's terrified face, and that horrible man's face behind her.

I sat upright, hearing the echoes of my scream. But, slowly, I realized I was still screaming. I cautiously looked in the mirror.

I wasn't screaming.

The sound suddenly stopped, cut off like a light switch. It was eerily silent, the lack of screaming goading me out of bed. It wasn't me screaming, it had to be Kathrynne. She didn't just stop screaming, she screamed and it slowly waned to a quiet sobbing.

I grabbed a flashlight, a strange detachment coming over me and I walked silently over to Kathrynne's room just down the hall. The slightly open door mocked me, drawing me closer against me faltering will. I toed open the door with my foot, wincing at the pitiful howling noise it let loose.

The flashlight dropped out of my hand and shattered on the floor.

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	2. Almost- You're Next

**Hello! Hoped you liked the first chapter! this chapter is in two parts- Almost and You're Next.**

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Chapter 2 Part 1- Almost

I couldn't even cry. The lady in the white that hovered around me said that I was in shock; the police said they remembered me from the last unsolved case. How the girl had simply disappeared, without a trace.

I heard their conversations through a buzzing in my head. My eyes latched unto something nobody else could see, the image of Katie hanging from that tree in the front yard while Kathrynne and I fought for control over what game we played. She was always the pacifist, Kathrynne was always infuriatingly right, and I was the drama-queen. That's how it always worked. I would flaunt my popularity in their faces, jealous of Kathrynne's many friends and Katie's easygoing manner that won her loyal friends.

Katie was the most loved out of all of us, modest, comforting, loyal to a fault, never taking sides, never fighting, always easing the pains of messy break-ups or deaths or horrible fights. She'd be the one who carried tears on her shoulder after every fight, the one who was silent but strong, who had a stronger connection with nature than us, the girl who preferred to be alone but never denied anyone her company. She was funny, sweet, kind, understanding, empathetic, logical, stubborn, everything someone would desire. She was oriented around the arts, nature, and her friends.

Kathrynne was a prankster, she always had the perfect joke or comeback, she had a short temper but being around Katie kept it in check. She was friends with everyone, was the model student, she was a genius, she was pretty- no gorgeous, with her darker features- dark chocolate brown hair, dark brown, almost black eyes, freckles, cute nose, deep red cupid's bow lips… she was certainly enviable.

I was hotheaded, beautiful with my lighter straight brown hair that fell just past my shoulder, crystal blue eyes, a sprinkling of freckles, light pink lips that curled languidly into a flirtatious smile, graceful neck, on the short side but in a good way, smart, sassy, dramatic- I got any role I wanted in theater, I practically ruled the theater. I had no misconceptions- I wasn't the greatest singer, but I could act. If Katie ever decided to audition, they'd turn it into a one-woman play. But, Katie didn't act, and for that I was thankful. Though mostly jealous.

I was snapped out of my memories by a strange group of people appearing in front of me. Some part of my mind identified them as the Teen Titans and the Justice League, but it appeared to be lost in transmission from the blank look at my usually radiant features.

"We need to ask you some questions, ok? Just answer whatever you feel confortable with." She smiled winningly at me. That same part that identified them before whispered, 'Wonder Woman'

I nodded slowly, managing to shake myself out of my stupor.

"C'mon what happened in there!" Someone burst out. Everyone turned to glare at a green skinned boy and his ears dropped, mumbling an apology to me. A smile twitched at the corner of my mouth. I could feel the hysterics starting to take control.

"I was having a nightmare- I- I have a lot of those. They're usually the same and they started right after- after Katie-" my voice choked up and I saw some of them nodding sympathetically, "-after Katie died." I winced. I had never admitted it, but… she was dead. "There's always a lot of mist covering everything. There's a girl in a silver mask who leads me along. Sometimes she does stuff that Katie would do, like whistle to the birds. She would say she was talking to them. Usually she just runs ahead of me on top of building and lampposts and I chase her. Then, there's this man and I can never see him clearly, but he's tall, and he wears a metal mask, and he follows me. whenever he gets too close, the girl freaks out and runs away and the lights all flicker and turn off. Each time it turns black, he'll be closer and closer."

I looked at them, gauging their reaction before continuing, "When he gets close enough for me to finally see him, I just get a glimpse then the girl appears behind him and her eyes glow gold and I wake up. It was different this time though."

I stopped, paralyzed with fear from my dream.

Suddenly strong arms enclosed me, squeezing the breath out of me. A girl with very red hair lifted me off the back of the ambulance into the air. Starfire.

"Do not worry, friend." She almost shouted in my ear, causing me to flinch in pain. "It is all right now."

She put me back on the ground. I blinked. Continuing,

"This time, there was blood everywhere. It was a trail and I decided to follow that instead of the girl. She didn't want me to and tried to stop me by throwing stuff at me, like pebbled or twigs. She still followed me though, almost like she had too or she was protecting me. I always thought it had been Katie because Katie protected me too. The blood trail led into an alleyway, and I hesitated because she threw something at me again and when I turned around she was closer and I could see her. Her mask was made of silver and it had some black stone of paint of something decorating it. It reminded me of feathers fro some reason. The mask only covered her eyes, half of her forehead and the top of her nose. I can't see her eyes in the dream until she's either really close like she had been or the dream is ending. She still didn't want me to go in, but now she was very scared and she hopped back on her lamppost."

I frowned, furrowing my brow as I retold this bit, "I took another step in, but then I had a really bad feeling about it and wanted to leave. I knew I wasn't going to like what I saw at the end of it. I turned back around and- and she was-wasn't there." I started trembling, my eyes wide and scared, "It was the man. He was sitting where she was and I ran inside to get away from him, but wherever I looked he was there. He had a mask too, b-b-b-b-ut-t," I stuttered as the rest of the dream washed over me and what happened after the dream. Black spots appeared on my vision and the last thing I heard was an unfamiliar face crouching over me, almost blocking my view of the girl perched on the lamppost.

Almost.

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**This is the 2nd part! I didn't think part 1 was long enough, but I also thought it was a good place to stop the chapter, so... hooray!**

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(Chapter 2 Part 2- You're Next)

I sat up groggily, groaning. I opened my eyes carefully, seeing that same face still looking down at me- Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans.

"Are you OK?" A robot/man –Cyborg- asked me concernedly. I nodded numbly. The fainting thing cleared my hand and I finally looked at everyone- really looked. Batman, Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Superman, Raven, Bumblebee, Aqualad-

I pointed at him, "You were Katie's favorite. We made her pick a favorite and she didn't like picking favorites, but she said she say that you were acting on camera and she did that so she liked you best. She loved swimming, too… " I said glumly. They recovered quickly from this sudden confession.

"Thanks, I guess."

Batman- Batman!- stepped to the front, "We've decided that you will come live with us for protection while we find who did this to your sister. You should go back, we'll be leaving in a few minutes." I nodded and raced inside with Starfire, Beast Boy and Bumblebee following me.

I avoided Kathrynne's room like the plague, instead opting to grab some of Katie's stuff from her room. She always had stuff from Kathrynne's room and my room. I entered her room, taking a deep breath.

"Woah! Is this your room! It smells great!" Beast Boy said. He sniffed and sighed happily.

"No, this is Katie's room. She always had some of out stuff in here, we all spent the most time in her room." I stated, taking in the beautiful walls that Katie had painted herself. Katie had bought three jugs of India ink and painstakingly painted beautiful nightingales, cats, hummingbirds, large grasshoppers, grass blades, the moon, sun, and stars all in black. Her walls were originally stark white, so it looked amazing altogether. I liked to watch her paint because she could always add more and she always was. India ink is really hard to work with because it's so drippy, so it took her ages to complete this. Plus, her room is really big.

"Did she paint this?" Bumblebee asked, leaning in to observe the walls.

"Yeah, she loved to do stuff like this. Where she came from, they loved the arts. She'd cover our walls with drawings, but they were actually good drawing, not crayon scribbles." I told them.

I grabbed the small knit blanket that Katie had brought with her. It was an intricate design, not the usual zigzag but swirls and waves and fish and birds, all showing the ocean palette, aquamarine, sea-green, turquoise, bright aqua, foamy white that topped the intricate waves, black, a glowing green, so many colors that if you stared too long your eyes would cross.

Then, I took her box of sketchbooks. I also snagged the picture on her bedside table, of herself on a beach with the water lapping at her feet and the two people next to her- an older boy with dark hair and chiseled features, and a older woman with laugh lines crinkling her face. None of them actually wore shoes, instead leaving them on the beach or, in Katie's case, tying the laces of the brown boots around her wrists so they dangled freely there.

After I got what I wanted from Katie's room, I went into mine. Bumblebee picked out all my clothes, cooing that I had a great sense of style. While she did that, I pulled out a small suitcase and told her she could fill that while I went to get my toiletries.

When I came back, the suitcase was filled to the brim and Bumblebee was holding it eagerly, "I carry this for you, you can grab the boxes." She nodded at the stuff I had gotten from Katie's room and we quickly headed out.

Batman was still waiting for us outside. He nodded at me and walked over to the Batmobile. I never thought I'd ever get to go in the Batmobile. THE Batmobile! This doesn't happen often, people!

Bumblebee helped me get my stuff in the car and promised she and Starfire would be visiting or I'd come to the Tower sometime. I hopped into the backseat of the Batmobile, barely getting my seatbelt on before the car sped off. The ride was mostly silent, thoughvery fast. I had honestly been under the impression the car ride would be a few hours, but since this is Batman, it was only 20-ish minutes.

At the Batcave…

"Thanks." I whispered in awe. Batman was apparently Bruce Wayne, owner of Wayne Enterprises, and I was now living with him permanently, because it wasn't safe for me to live on my own since, not now that I'm being targeted, as the note in Kathrynne's blood professed- You're next.

So, I've been adopted by Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne. I could be the next flipping Robin! Though, they get shot on a daily basis… so I think I 'll just… not.

Wow, I bet my parents never expected this to happen. They must be looking down from Heaven all confused and such. Kathrynne would be jealous.

If she weren't dead.

I shuddered from the image of poor Kathrynne, dead in her bed, oozing blood, the message scrawled above her head.

You're next.

You're next.

You're next…

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	3. Kathrynne's Back!

**Holy crap. Just went through this chapter... *shakes head* SO MANY MISTAKES! so ashamed...  
**

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**Chapter 3- Kathrynne's Back!**

She sat upright, fear buzzing through her veins chaotically, tears flowing down her cheeks and sobs wracking her small frame. Sara's lips were curled up in a cruel imitation of a smile in her fit of hysterics.

I turned away from the cheeks, the side of my mask glinting and the picture from the screen perching on the side of it.

"I need to talk to her! Please, just let me tell her I'm alive! She's going to continue searching for me once Batman tells her he thinks I'm still alive!" I begged.

I never begged.

"Sorry, you're lucky I still let you out at all. Can't risk having having my favorite apprentice taken away, can we, Nightingale?" he said mockingly. I bit back a growl and turned my back on him, once again facing the screen and watching as a butler- Alfred- rushed in and started to comfort her.

"I need you to go steal something tonight." He said, coming to place a hard hand on my shoulder. I gritted my teeth, fighting the knee-jerk reaction of blasting him into next week, instead saying,

"Where."

"It was horrible! They- they- they were still alive, Katie and Kathrynne!" I bawled.

"How is that a bad thing, miss? Wouldn't you like them to be alive and well?" Alfred asked in that calming butler-y way of his.

"Well, yes, but whenever I tried to talk to them, they ran away. At least, Katie did. Kathrynne couldn't remember me at all."

"I'm sure it was just a dream. If they were alive, they would not avoid you." He reassured me.

Suddenly Bruce ran in, "Sara. There's something you need to see."

I got out of bed, still sniffling, and followed him down into the Batcave. Bruce typed something into the computer and a picture of Kathrynne's body came up. I winced.

"Kathrynne is not dead. After a very thorough search of the body, we discovered that the body is merely a very convincing body that regular scans would have read as a regular body. We are currently searching for you sister, but Beast Boy lost the trail in a tunnel. If this is true, then it is very likely that Katie is also alive."

My mind reeled- they were alive! I managed to splutter out, "How- but why wouldn't she have come back?"

"Katie may not have a choice in the matter. We believe they are being held captive somewhere. Don't worry, we will find them."

Nightingale's POV

Wayne Enterprises, Jump City. I'm going to steal from Wayne Enterprises.

Hooray.

It was still only six here, the sun was going into set in a few hours though, so I had to hustle to do my thing. I had managed to get onto the roof without incident, though what happens now could change everything.

I stepped to the edge and waited for someone to notice me. The frightened shouts and crowd gathering at the bottom of the tower let me now that I had their attention. They'd recognize this 'ritual' by now. I took another step forwards, my toes now over the edge. My earpiece buzzed and he hissed, "Do it!"

I opened my mouth and let the melodic melody flow into the crisp air, captivating my audience quickly.

This is the first day of my life

I swear I was born right in the doorway

I went out in the rain suddenly everything changed

They're spreading blankets on the beach

Then, I put my fingers to my lips and whistled a shrill tune- a Nightingale call. Then, as quickly as it started, it was over and I disappeared. The crowd soon dispersed and I hustled back to where I would wait until I could return, hiding under the cover night offered.

I perched on top of it and whistled the same nightingale tune I'd whistled earlier before cracking open a window and silently sliding in. my booted feet hit the floor silently as I crept forwards. I saw myself reflected in the mirror- a slim girl with long, luscious brown hair with streaks of soft latte colored brown amongst the darker strands. The silver mask stood out in stark contrast against my hair. My irises gleamed gold and rich forest green. Upon closer inspection, you could see that the waving threads of gold glowed, which was why my eyes often seemed golden. My eyes were truly a stunning emerald green with rings of forest green that shimmered in their depths. I wore a short black dress made of a flame, water, ice, dirt, etc. resistant fabric with long sleeves. It had white tendrils crawling along the hems. I also had a thin, black belt just above my stomach that was about one finger wide. Underneath the dress, I wore a pair of dark, steel grey legging and black ankle boots.

I shook my head and continued moving, carefully staying out of the cameras view. I stared at my target- a ray gun. Simple, but destructive. I surveyed the surrounding area, checking for extra cameras or Titans of some sort. They probably wouldn't be here, it was only my first time here, and 'where to better make a first impression that stealing from Bruce Wayne'? I snorted. Right, this'll work out just fine.

It's a good thing I'm a pacifist.

I crept forwards, carefully lowering my body temperature so I'd match the heat cameras that were tossed into the crazy mix of cameras on the walls. For good measure, of course.

I stopped right in front of the case, crouching just out of cameras view and reaching hand up to pull out a bobby pin.

His voice hissed in my ear, "Just break the glass, Nightingale! In and out!"

I sighed and crushed the lock in my fist, causing the glass the shatter. I grabbed the gun and jumped out the window quickly. All you could see, if you were to look at th tops of the building, was a slender silhouette hopping from rooftops, then disappearing in a cloud of ink. If you were to look up at the stars, you might notice a quick ribbon of light fly over your head and zigzag across the sky. You might gasp and exclaim at the 'shooting star', or shake your head and stare confusedly at the rapidly fading ribbon of light that wouldn't last longer than .5 seconds.

I flew haphazardly around large buildings and through clouds. The one thing I really loved about being a bird, other the fact that I'm a BIRD and I'm flying, I love that Slade can't contact me when I'm a bird. I mean, he could if I created a mental link, but he doesn't know that so, shh... I loved the feel of the wind rushing through my soft feathers, and I loved looking at the people and guessing what they did and following them to see what it was they did, but most of all I loved flying to Titans Tower and see the Titans happily talking and playing and eating in there. I'd flown past often enough and gone on the roof enough that Raven recognizes me and showed me to Robin and Cyborg. Beast Boy talks to me when he's upset, though usually not as a bird, and he's delighted by my 'reactions'. He and Raven have given me a name, too- Silverwing, because 'I fly on wings of silver', says Raven.

Raven talks to me too, about her and Robin and their bond, and Cyborg and how he's like an older brother, and Starfire is that annoying but lovable sister that always asks questions, and Beast Boy and how she doesn't hate him nearly as much as she pretends to. She introduced me to Cyborg once, and she was delighted that I hadn't flown away when she had. I always had to fly away eventually though, because Slade always needed me back for something and if I wasn't back within an hour, she'd be hurt. Poor Sara.

I've been on my best behavior lately- if I manage to steal from Wayne Enterprises, Gotham City's bank, Steel City's Titans East, and the Teen Titans. I'm on my way to take back the ray gun, and tomorrow I'll go to Gotham City. After that I'll go to Steel City, if there isn't some special task I need to do before that. I'm trying to put off stealing from the Teen Titans for as long as possible, but... I need to get Kathrynne back to Sara. Preferably by the end of the week.

I touched down on the hard, metal floors, shifting into a human when i was about five feet from the ground so I landed gracefully on my feet. Slade, or rather his voice, appeared instantaneously, "The gun." He said in a commanding tone of voice and dropped to the floor in front of me. I pulled the gun out from my belt, ignoring the muffled protests from Kathrynne, trapped in her glass cylinder.

"Am I done now?" I asked irritably. He smirked- even with the mask, I can tell!- and moved aside and motioned for me to go forwards with a mocking sweep of his arm. I stalked by him, hopping light footedly up the steps to the circle of light that shone on Kathrynne's cell. She banged her fists against the thick, unbreakable glass and said something that I couldn't decipher. I leaned over and pressed the button on the control panel next to her cell. Their was a buzzing sound and I made sure my voice was lower than usual so she wouldn't recognize me by voice,

"You'll be going to stay with Miss Shore soon enough."

"Is- is she o-ok?" she stammered.

I nodded, "She worries."

Kathrynne cocked her head at me, "You know, you remind me of a friend of mine from my childhood. She was always looking out for Sara and I, no, she was always looking out for anyone. She'd do anything to insure her friends safety. She disappeared a while ago, in December. The last thing I said to her was that I was going to visit our parents' graves. I thought it was odd then what she said, but she'd always been a bit odd." she looked like she was deep in thought.

"What did she say?" I said quietly.

"She said, 'Tell then I say bye,'. I came home late that night and went to her room and knocked at the door. I had an exam the next day, and I bought Starbucks so we could stay up and study more. She didn't respond. I opened the door, and she was gone. The window was open and Sara and I searched everywhere for a note or a clue. I never told the police what she told me. It was too personal, I 'spose." Kathrynne said glumly."

"It probably wouldn't have helped. I mean, if she told you to them she said bye, they'd just assume she had committed suicide or something. Police are stupid like that." I said monotonously.

She looked up, hope shining in her crisp green eyes, "You think she's alive?"

I shrugged noncommittally, "Well, don't you think you'd know if she was dead?"

Kathrynne smiled in response. I turned to leave, then paused and angled my head so she could see a profile view of my face, "One question."

"Yeah?" his muffled response came. I pressed the button again and leaned in so I could properly hear her answer,

"Did you tell them her words? Your parents?"

"I- I don't remember..." she murmured, tearing started to ring her eyes. I nodded and let go of the button, walking away to where Slade was waiting.

I walked beside him, waiting for him to speak. We walked like this, in silence, for a few minutes before he finally spoke, "I've decided to let the girl go tomorrow." I stopped walking out of surprise. He turned,

"Do you not want her to be freed? She wasn't been fed since I took her." he reminded me. I shook my head vigorously, then nodded.

"Yes, I want her to be freed and all- but I'm just confused as to why she is being let go." My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You will take her to the Titans Tower. Leave her in Robin's room and I want you to stay there and deliver a message." Slade paced slowly in front of my with his hands folded behind his back.

"And that would be...?" I prodded. He turned to face me. His tone held a certain smugness to it, and a dollop of mockery,

"From Slade, Jump City to Sarelia Shore and Bruce Wayne, Gotham City. Handle with care."

**Robin's POV**

I opened the door to my room, the other Titans close following close behind, and stopped suddenly from shock. The other Titans bumped into me, peering around my frame. I took a step inside my room, cautiously eying the girl unconscious on the floor and then the girl who leaned casually against the wall of my room, her boots crossed at the ankles and arms folded. The girl was known as Nightingale, a thief. Her sign that she would steal something was a bit of a song then a nightingale whistle. She waved an envelope at me before tossing it at the ground at me feet. Beast Boy and Cyborg carefully walked over to her. She didn't move as they neared her.

I picked up the envelope after scanning it for anything that could explode or something. Starfire went over to wake up the girl as I read the letter, anger marring my features as I crumbled it in my hand.

"Robin?" Raven stared at me worriedly and I wordlessly handed her the letter- _'From Slade, Jump City to Sarelia Shore and Bruce Wayne, Gotham City. Handle with care.'_

"Robin." Beast Boy called me over to the masked girl, still comfortably leaning on my wall.

"What, Beast Boy?" I asked, annoyed. I stared at the girl in the black dress who boldly stared back at me, then turned to Beast Boy.

"I recognize her scent. It's the girl from December, the one who we never found! There was a room in this girl's," he pointed to the girl on the floor, "house laced with this chick's scent. Sara said that it was Katie's room. This must be Katie, or someone who's in her room a lot!" He exclaimed. I turned to the girl, intending to question her- and ended up facing an empty wall.

She was gone.

Again.

**Sara's POV**

"Miss? We need you upstairs for something." Alfred was valiantly attempting to suppress a smile. Not that I even noticed. Without Katie or Kathrynne, I was dead. We- Kathrynne and I- never realized how much of a void Katie managed to fill, one that we hadn't even known was there before we adopted her. Her living killed us inside, but we tried to get over it because we still had each other. Then Kathrynne is 'killed' but its not actually her and I find out that Katie and Kathrynne are still alive.

That whole time, Katie had been alive. She'd had nearly a whole 12 months to find her way back to us, and she never did.

I was so absorbed in my admittedly depressing thoughts; I almost didn't notice that I was already upstairs.

"Sara?" A jarringly familiar voice whispered hoarsely. My head snapped up, my eyes blue eyes wide in shock.

Kathrynne.

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	4. Mélodie Rossignol

**Just found out- my room has the best wi-fi! Yay!**

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Chapter 4- Mélodie Rossignol

"Kathrynne!" I squealed and ran over to my big sister. We hugged fiercely, neither of us noticing the Titans behind us laughing happily.

"Oh Sara, I've got so much to tell you- This man took me and-"

Alfred interrupted her, "I'd like to know just as much as anyone, Miss, but you might want to get some food and water before you tell you about your kidnapping."

Kathrynne nodded, blushing in embarrasment, and admittied, "It's been so long since I've had a proper meal, I'd almost forgotten I need food. This girl though, she food always bring me half of the meals that horrible man gave her. I think I would've died if it weren't for her, to be honest."

"Did she wear a silver mask and a black dress, by chance?" Robin asked, stepping forwards. Kathrynne nodded,

"How'd you-"

"She was there when I found you in my room. She was leaning against the wall like she owned the place."

"She didn't leave until you woke up. We turned back to talk to her and she was just, gone." Raven added.

"Yeah, she never left until I ate all the food she gave me. The other man, Slade I think, never let me out, but she'd take me for walks so I wouldn't get claustrophobic or something. She also talked to me, at first she said it was only because if regular humans or animals are completely isolated, they'd go insane." Kathrynne told them.

"Let's go get you something to eat, shall we?" Alfred took her by the elbow and led her downstairs.

30 minutes later...

"Alright, what happened?" Robin prodded her.

"Well, I was woke up at midnight. I wasn't really sure why, but when I looked around, I saw myself dead in the bed net to me. I screamed really loudly and this girl appeared next to me. She had her hood up and a dark cloak. She sprayed me with something and I fell asleep again. then, when I woke up, I was trapped in the glass cylinder, and whatever I said was blocked out and I could hear them, unless you flipped this switch, but they could't hear me. The same girl was there, and her hood was down but she was wearing that silver mask. I wasn't really sure why because wearing a mask and a hood seems a bit pointless, but they were talking about Sara and me. They stopped talking after she promised to steal something from Wayne Enterprises, the Titans Tower, the Titans East, and Gotham City bank."

"So that was who stole the gun!" Bruce exclaimed. "Security tapes didn't show anything- she must have something that allows her to regulate her own body temperature and become invisble." He nodded to Kathrynne to continue her story.

"She showed me video of you once, Sara. There were cameras planted in your room and she always updated me on how you were, though she said her reasoning was she was fed up with me asking her and she had gotten permission. Apparently I'm more submissive when I know your alive. She talked to me every day before she went to bed. She actually sleeps during the day, unless that man sends her on missions. I hate him! I mean, he wasn't too bad to me, but he forced her to steal and attack people, but he held some kind of leverage over her. She even admitted that she only got about an hour of sleep every week, but she can work on nothing apparently." Kathrynne scowled. I noted how attached she seemed to this girl.

"What else did she tell you?" Bruce inquired.

"Not much, she was a bit sercretive. But she said she wanted to help me and that she was going to get me out. She also told me her name was Nightingale and that she had to steal because if she didn't, everyone she loved who was left would be killed. She told me that she's not a bad guy, bu Slade wants people to think she is. Nightingale said that Slade isn't really that bad, he just had a horrible childhood, just like her. Even though she's forced to steal, she tries to do the least amount of damage possible to that company. She sometimes steals extra from the companies and banks she's made to steal from and gives a bit to people on the streets. That's basically it."

"So, she's not a bad guy, but still is a bad guy?" Beast Boy questioned Robin.

"Did she tell you her real name?" Robin pressed, completly ignoring Beast Boy's question.

"No, she gave me a hint. It has to do with music, the french language and birds, apparently. Oh, and she told me if I needed another clue that I should talk to a prince of some sort. She said you guys know him?"

"Aqualad!" They exclaimed.

"What's the clue?" Aqualad asked me after he arrived and greeted everyone.

"Nightingale said that it has to do with music, the french language, and bird." Kathrynne repeated.

Aqualad's eyes grew huge and happy, "Mélodie Rossignol! She was a French girl, she was abandoned by her parents. They tried to drown her, though she never told me why. She said she didn't want to talk about it. Her American name is Melody Nightingale, though. Melody saved my sister, the princess. She healed Oceana by literally giving her her life. Somehow, she survived, and wsa able to breathe underwater because she got some of Oceana's abilities. She was very shy and modest and refused the celebration in her honor. We still had it, of course, though Melody had to be dragged to it by Oceana."

"You seem surprised, dude. What happened to her? Did she leave Atlantis?" Beast Boy queried.

Aqualad's chipper mood faded, "She never wanted to go back to the higher waters, though back then I didn't know about her parents. I finally got her to come up with me because back then I loved to go to the surface. We were jumping out of the water and one of the islanders threw a spear at my chest. She pushed me back into the water and she got speared instead of me. I tried to pull her back down to Atlantis, but they caught her in a net and took her on land. We tried to get her back, but she physically couldn't leave the islands territory. I thought she was still on the island, or dead. Guess not."

We were all silent for a minute or so, until Alfred spoke up, "Well, we must get her and her friends to safety, shouldn't we?"

Everyone roared in agreement.

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	5. The Final Battle

**Wow, second to last chapter (I think...) I might have an epilogue, but who knows? This one has an interesting ending...**

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**Chapter 5- Final Battle**

I watched through narrowed eyes as the Titans streamed out of the various exits to the Wayne Manor. "Not very stealthy, are they?" I murmured.

Slade responded, "No, not particularly. Remember- you need to capture Robin. I don't care how injured his is, just get him. He _will_ be my apprentice, whether he likes it or not."

"What if I can't fight him? Or if-"

"Just get him!" Slade hissed angrily before a click sounded, telling me that the earpiece was off. I sighed before standing up and releasing a piercing note- the signal- that caused all the Titans to look around until they located me.

I stood for another few seconds before jumping off the lone tree. I hit the ground running and the Titans looked confused until multiple people ran out from the shadows surrounding the Manor. The Joker kept pace with me,

"Having fun yet, Birdy?" he mocked, his painted red grin pushed up farther by the real, sickening smile he wore. I gritted my teeth and pulled ahead so I stayed at the head. Soon I got into the rhythm and practically flew across the ground, nearing fifty miles per hours. Guess I have something to thank the islanders for after all.

It wasn't lost on me how Robin pulled out his communicator and called for help, probably from the Justice League and the Titans who were not yet here. Couldn't blame him, not really. After all, I've got the Brotherhood of Evil, Gotham's villains, and the Titans regular enemies. Slade wasn't here yet- he probably will be in about three minutes. Tops.

Suddenly the Manor's defenses came to life. The gunshots rang out in the night and I was very, _very_ happy that the dress that I wore was practically indestructible. The bullets bounced off me and I kept running while the others had to use various powers to protect themselves. I rolled my eyes. _How irksome. I'll have to start this by myself._

Luckily, Harley Quinn and Madame Rouge had fantastic acrobatic/stretchy skills and managed to evade every bullet, Kyd Wykkyd simply teleported, Mammoth and Adonis were also bulletproof, Ivy's vines protected her, and Angel flew.

The other side- the good guys- ran towards us full-speed. We met them head-on, some of us wrestling with our opponents, others being knocked back, and very few swiftly knocking them unconscious.

At first, it was as though the battle would go on forever. Neither side was winning or losing… then Slade showed up.

The result was immediate- we started beating them back into the Manor, some of Gotham's villains taking specific glee in this. I, on the other hand, felt sick. For God's sake, I _knew_ some of these people! They even allowed Kathrynne and Sara fight. If they came up to me, I couldn't possibly fight them. Not a chance, nope, not happening.

Slade was somehow fighting next to me. He swiftly dealt a punch to the person he'd been fighting and knocked them unconscious. I grudgingly did the same and followed him as he made his way over to Robin and Batman. They spotted us and came towards us. Somewhere during the eternal stretch where we charged at each other, Kathrynne and Sara joined them, just as Gizmo joined us. Gizmo was, oddly enough, very attached to me. I think it had something to do with the similarities between Jinx and myself, including the outfit. The only difference was I didn't have the little gem thing and mine had silver woven into it.

Batman and Slade attacked each other, leaving the five of us to have our fun. I shrugged, "Don't wanna do this, by the way." I lunged at Robin and our bo staffs screeched in protest.

"Why?" Robin panted, "You're his apprentice, you should like things like this."

I growled, my eyes glowing and the colors separating to one gold eye, one green- only happens when I'm honestly and truly _pissed off. "I'm not his apprentice." _I spat out and struck out extra hard. Time seemed to slow down as Robin took advantage of my open left side and swung his staff at me. My head wailed in protest and I dimly registered the clanging of my steel mask against the marble floors. Kathrynne, Sara, and Gizmo gasped. Robin merely stared.

"_Katie…"_ Kathrynne breathed.

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**See, I didn't forget about Katie! I was going to include something about Kathrynne and Sara being annoyed that Bruce hadn't found her yet, but... yeah, I didn't.**

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	6. Goodbye Kiss

**I don't know what happened here! It exploded in my FREAKING face! It was supposed to be serious and junk but THIS! THIS WAS NOT MY INTENT! **

**My thoughts on this chapter- what. the. HELL.**

**DISCLAIMER- Always forgetting this... Obviously, I don't own the Teen Titans or I'd just make an episode where my stories happen! Epiphany right here! Woah!**

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**Chapter 6- Goodbye Kiss**

"'Sup." I nodded and struck out viciously at Robin before he had time to do it himself. He barely managed to block it and I pushed him back, trusting Gizmo to take care of the girls.

"Why are you doing this? You should be on our side!" Robin gasped after I landed a particularly hard hit to his side. _Cracked rib, probably, if the cracking noise says anything._

"Blackmail. Duh. You know, for the world's greatest detective and his apprentice, you aren't so bright." I told him, grunting as I struggled to keep my ground as our bo staffs strained against each other.

"He's threatening them, right? Either you do what he says, or he kills them?" Robin said, his voice surprisingly sympathetic despite the current situation.

"Yeah." I said shortly.

"He did that to me too. Got little nanobots into their systems." He paused, "We could help, you know. Aqualad… he really misses you. And all we have to do is get the controller from him."

"Yeah, well, even if I did want or need your help, _you_ couldn't. He wants you as his apprentice. Once he's got you, he'll probably keep me around anyways. I've got a few… interesting tricks up my sleeve that he finds rather useful."

"How'd you keep this kind of thing from your friends all these years?"

"Why are we having a friendly-ish conversation while we're attacking each other? Humans are weird and awesome, sometimes, that's why." I answered sarcastically. "Anyways, if you got the thing from him, I wouldn't be attacking you at all. But he still has it, not you, you I'm attacking you. Pretty straightforward." I stopped and thought over our conversation. "Wait a sec… how'd you know about the controller?!"

"Well, I took a scan of Kathrynne and Sara a little while back- just to check for nanobots. Anyways, I found a chip in their arms and took it out. At this point, it would kill the box its in. Might be helpful to get the controller though." He grinned at me. I stopped.

"Wait, you serious?"

"Yup."

"Dude- well, in THAT case…" I turned and my eyes glowed gold. I lifted my hands and the bandages, which were- by the way- magical, undid themselves and beams of gold-stuff (I honestly have NO IDEA what my powers are, other than draining and gaining.) shot through the air and wrapped up the Joker. He started hanging upside down in the air.

"I never really liked you, ya know." I said contemplatively.

Then I punched him out and announced his unconsciousness, but, I was already scoping out my next target so, it doesn't really matter. I disappeared in an inky black cloud with thread of gold woven in- if you haven't guessed, gold is really my color, what with my hair and the multiple shades of brown and (you guessed it!) gold.

I reappeared next to Aqualad. "Hey, dude." I saluted him before picking Harley Quinn up and tossing her aside. I put a _little_ too much into the toss, but hey! she insulted one of my favorite artists. That's just crossing a line, bro! What else was I supposed to do?

Slade shouted to me, "What are you _doing_ Nightingale?!"

"Something I shoulda done a looong time ago!" I answered before leaping over everyone to knocking him unconscious. The perks of your kidnapper wearing a metal *coughflammablecough* mask- 100,000,000!

And, because I am such a boss and I was totally holding back on the good guys, the villains were either unconscious or somewhere at the bottom of a chasm (yeah, sometime during the fight we ended up in the Batcave, and then they wouldn't move and they were *cough* accidentally pushed into the chasm… totally by accident. Not a purpose. Nope, not me!), and the superheroes were gaping at me in various stages of shock, then awe, then horror, then awe, then confusion.

And then awe. Because I am a boss…

A boss that happens to have ADD, multiple personality disorcer, occasional panic-attacks, trust issues, I sometimes hallucinate, and have PTSD, along with a phobia of islanders and spears, oh and sometimes my hand explodes and shoots out energy and generally tends to DEMOLISH the area I'm in like it's about to now, but…. No biggie, right? Hehe…

"Hey, now would be a **great** time to run out screaming. 'Cause, my hand is about to explode and develop a mind of its own, cause it sometimes does that, heh, this cave needed some redecoration anyways, yeah?" I told them, nervously eyeing my glowing hand.

"Dude- I was serious- time for you to hightail it outta here! I'm _not joking!_ Not at all, guys!" I told them urgently.

Raven stepped forward and created a circle of dark energy. "That's not going to hold. Just so you know…"

"I'm creating a funnel. Herald is going to create a portal and all you powers should go in there…" Raven muttered, concentrating on molding the sphere of dark energy.

"Oh."

Raven continued working. I stared at the ceiling, counting the bats up here. I know he's _Bat_man and all and this is the _Bat_cave, but seriously- this is a little over the top.

1,783,009…

1,783,010…

1,783,011…

"What did you say about the Batcave needing redecorating?" Batman said in a deadly calm tone.

I froze, "Uh… Me? Pssh, that wasn't ME…"

I was sitting on Kathrynne's bed, rubbing the Titan's communicator I was presented with, after declaring that Sara's was too pink and clothing covered.

"So, um, the long version would take awhile, so… My parents were assassins and they'd been training me since I could walk and often had been go on missions, because seriously- who can say no to a cute, lonely little girl? No one. Ever. Anyways, one day, I visited a town after I killed someone in that town, and I was shocked that everyone was so… depressed and broken at the death of this person. After that, I would secretly come back and resurrect the person I killed, mostly because I couldn't stand seeing people sad." I stopped for a minute, looking at all the unfamiliar faces. I felt the waves of distrust telling me to stop RIGHT there missy! But I ignored it, for the sake of poor Aqualad and my 'sisters'.

My leg started jiggling, "Anyways, my parents caught me, got really pissed, beat me up, then chained me up and threw me into the ocean. I was pretty much a goner, but I saw this Atlantian who was also about to die so four-year-old me was like 'HEY! I'll help this chick because she needs help, yay!' and I told her to swim over via hand signals, and then healed her with my wacked up powers. Later, I woke up in the Atlantian infirmary, I still don't get why the girl didn't go there but… anyways! I got gills, it had something to do with me saving the Atlantian, and I stayed there until I eight, then Aqualad and I, who were good friends, went up to the surface after he finally convinced me to by dragging me. Some islander threw a spear at him and while we were still in the air, I pushed him into the water and ended up getting speared myself, I then got snared in a net, got cut on the hand, and aged backwards to four-year-old me. Turns out, I did indeed die, but some higher power decided to resurrect me, and since no one ever ages on the island because it's frozen in time, I was there for a few hundred years, aging very slowly back to eight, before I got out. When you're on the island, everything is frozen, so no time went forwards at all which is why Aqualad is still older than me." I took a large, gulping breath.

"OK, um, somehow, Kathrynne, Sarelia and their parents got through that, dunno how, decided me bring me back with them, and changed my name the Katie I re-grew up with them. Few years later, I'm fourteen, and Slade himself shoots down Ms. and Mr. Shore. I was the only witness, and he then decided to tell me that he'd been watching me and he wants me to help him capture Robin here. I said, "Dude, no way! That's really weird, go get him yourself. Also- you _just_ killed my adopted parents, you're so lucky that my emotions are pretty dead right now from shock or you'd been a stain on the ground when I'm done with you- why would I help you?" and he goes on and on about how he'd implanted something in Sara and Kathrynne's arms while they were sleeping cause they can sleep through frickin' _anything_ and if I didn't join him in three months, he'd come get me or kill them. Three months later, true to his word, I'm kidnapped and held with him for about a year, stealing and killing and such. Basically, blast from the past kind of thing for me. Yay. Ta-da my life story in under 10 minutes!" I finished with a flourish of my arms, then added,

"Oh, I've also got ADD, hallucinations, PTSD, MPD (multiple personality disorder), panic attacks, trust issues- or so I've been told-, a phobia of islanders and spears, and a hand that likes to combust. Who said biographies are always boring?" I grinned.

I got some really weird looks… Not that I can blame them. I'm on #2 personality, which is extreme ADD, randomness, hallucinations, and happy-attacks (the opposite of panic attacks- they're random times where I get really happy and tend to run around hugging people and giggling hysterically). #1 is the one that Sara and Kathrynne grew up with, and #1 and ½ is the one Aqualad grew up with- a mix of #1 and #2. #3 is the one I'm the least proud of… My mother *fondly* called it Assassin Personality. I hated it. I'm completely serious, no jokes, no laughter, my-way-or-the-highway, trigger-happy personality. That was the one Slade had.

"Right, well, that's that, I'll just be taking my leave now…" I got up from the bed. Kathrynne grabbed my arm,

"What do you mean? We _just _got you back!"

"Well, yeah, sure, if you say it like that it sounds bad, but I mean- my hand detonates with lots of lights of weird shadows on a regular basis! As in, not safe! Anyways, I was just gonna head for high ground, preferably away from humans. Or, more realistically, replacing high ground with below sea level ground and humans with Atlantians."

"…You're kidding, right?" she said, disbelieving.

"I'll come back in a year or so! Ish!"

"_Ish?!_ What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?" She shrieked. I winced, covering my ears.

"I mean, about a year. I haven't seen the Atlantians in ages, literally. Look, I'll visit once a month, yeah?"

"But-"

"Look, Kathrynne, I love you guys and all, but I would've been moving out a living on my own within a year. I probably would've started house hunting this month, if I know anything about myself, it's that I'm not a team player. I'm a loner, remember? I only ever went to all those parties and dances to get you all off my back and so I wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings. You guys just never stopped obsessing over yourselves to notice." I told them bluntly, feeling #3 starting to arise. I tried to push it back down, but it simply WOULD NOT LISTEN and I finished,

"I'll meet you at Boothbay Harbor, Maine in a month if you wanna visit." My voice was icy, but like all ice, it is cold to the naked eye, but to someone who knows where to look, it's vulnerability and fear playing at indifference.

So, naturally, Aqualad was the only one to follow me. "Melody!" Aqualad called.

I turned to face him, crossing my arms with a sour expression on my face like a just eaten a whole lemon.

"Look, I know you're upset, but-"

"No, I'm not upset, it's the personalities… I'm on #3. Mother dearest," I spat the words out like they would burn my tongue, "called it Assassin Personality. I'm leaving so I don't do anything else I'll regret later. So, if I say anything rude to you, I don't mean it. I swear." I smiled ruefully.

"I'll see you later, yeah?" I said slowly as I turned to leave. Aqualad grabbed my arm and spun me around…

And kissed me.

On the lips.

"Goodbye kiss." He whispered breathlessly before releasing me and jogging back to his temporary room. I blinked before shaking my head and taking my leave of this place.

For now, at least.

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**blarrrrg... so weird. worst ending ever. Sorry about that. Feel free to edit it and make it totally awesome in your mind!**

_**One super important thing!**_** I'm making Nightingale one of my official characters, like Robin or Jinx- basically she'll come up a lot. **

**And yes- Nightingale will always be a Titan.**

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